Thursday, July 28, 2011

Michele Bachmann remains silent on teen suicides in her congressional district

GOP presidential hopeful and Tea Party favorite, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) has been noticeably silent on the spate of teen suicides in Anoka-Hennepin school district — Minnesota’s largest school district, which is located in the heart of Bachmann’s district.

Over the past two years, a total of nine teenagers have committed suicide in a Minnesota school district represented by Rep. Michele Bachmann — the latest in May — and many more students have attempted to take their lives.

State public health officials have labeled the area a “suicide contagion area” because of the unusually high death rate.

Some of the victims were gay, or perceived to be by their classmates, and many were reportedly bullied. And the anti-gay activists who are some of the congresswoman’s closest allies stand accused of blocking an effective response to the crisis and fostering a climate of intolerance that allowed bullying to flourish. Bachmann, meanwhile, has been uncharacteristically silent on the tragic deaths that have roiled her district—including the high school that she attended.

-Mother Jones

No comments: